The present invention relates to a flexible shuffle circuit and fixture, and more particularly, a shuffle circuit that provides a flexible fiber routing management solution for optical networking applications, a method, and a fixture for assembling the same.
There are several prior art systems including, for example, a device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,590, which discloses an optical harness and method for an optical cross-connect. The optical harness in this patent comprises a number of a fiber optic rows where each fiber optic cable comprises an array of optical fibers arranged in a plane. However, the optical fibers are in a ribbon arrangement, thereby limiting the flexibility of the optical fibers in each of the cables due to the bend radius of the optical fibers. Moreover, each of the fibers in the outgoing legs are all the same color, so when the cables become twisted and inverted, is difficult to identify the optical fibers.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,396 discloses an optical fiber interconnection apparatus that includes a flexible body member having a peripheral edge. A plurality of optical fibers are mounted to the body member so that their ends extend beyond the peripheral edge. The flat flexible body member is a flexible polymer sheet, such as that of a polyamide material. Again, the flexibility of the optical fibers is restricted due to the optical fibers being mounted on the body member.
Still other prior art systems use a label attached to the optical fibers near their ends. The labels typically have a number identifying each set of optical fibers and which side contains the first fiber. However, oftentimes these labels fall off or, because the fiber lengths are too long, they are cut off to achieve the correct fiber lengths. The operator then has a problem identifying the sets and the first fiber, except through the costly and time-consuming procedure of trial and error.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a flexible shuffle circuit that substantially obviates one or more of the problems and disadvantages in the prior art. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the apparatus and process particularly pointed out in the written description and claims, as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention is directed to a flexible shuffle circuit that has a shuffle housing disposed on a plurality of optical fibers, the plurality of optical fibers extending from a first location in the shuffle housing, the plurality of optical fibers arranged into a first plurality of sets of optical fibers, each set of optical fibers in the first plurality of optical fibers comprising at least two optical fibers, and a protective covering on at least a portion of each of the first plurality of sets of optical fibers, the optical fibers being free to move relative to one another within the protective covering, and at least a portion of the protective coverings disposed within the shuffle housing at the first location, and the plurality of optical fibers extending from a second location in the shuffle housing, the plurality of optical fibers arranged into a second plurality of sets of optical fibers, the optical fibers in each of the second plurality of sets of optical fibers being different from the optical fibers in each of the first plurality of sets of optical fibers and each set of optical fibers in the second plurality of optical fibers comprising at least two optical fibers, and a protective covering on at least a portion of each of the second plurality of sets of optical fibers, the optical fibers being free to move relative to one another within the protective covering, and at least a portion of the protective coverings disposed within the shuffle housing at the second location.
In another aspect, the invention provides for a method of assembling a flexible shuffle circuit that includes providing a plurality of optical fibers having a first end and a second end, arranging the plurality of optical fibers into a first plurality of sets of optical fibers at the first end and a second plurality of sets of optical fibers at the second end, each set of optical fibers comprising at least two optical fibers, disposing a holding member on the plurality of optical fibers at a predetermined location, ribbonizing the ends of each of the first plurality of sets of optical fibers in a first predetermined orientation, and ribbonizing the ends of the second plurality of sets of optical fibers in a second predetermined orientation.
In yet another aspect, the invention is directed to a flexible shuffle circuit that includes a holding member, a first plurality of sets of optical fibers extending from a first location in the holding member, each optical fiber in each of the first plurality of sets of optical fibers having identifying indicia, the identifying indicia for each optical fiber in each set of the first plurality of sets being different, the optical fibers in the first plurality of sets of optical fibers having an end portion, the end portion of the optical fibers having a predetermined orientation based on the identifying indicia and the predetermined orientation of the ends of the optical fibers in each of the sets in the first plurality of sets of optical fibers being different, and a second plurality of sets of optical fibers extending from a second location in the holding member, each optical fiber in each of the second plurality of sets of optical fibers having identifying indicia, the identifying indicia for each optical fiber in each set of the second plurality of sets being different, the optical fibers in the second plurality of sets of optical fibers having an end portion, the end portion of the optical fibers having a predetermined orientation based on the identifying indicia and the predetermined orientation of the ends of the optical fibers in each of the sets in the second plurality of sets of optical fibers being different.
It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification. The drawings illustrate several embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.